Dining in Dakar, Senegal

February 21, 2012

The flavor of Dakar’s culture is rich and colorful, and the nation's food selections are no different. Just as the West African and European cultures come alive in the city's architecture and way of life, the two cultures come together over a meal to provide a one of a kind dining opportunity during your Senegal tour.

In Senegal, a restaurant dinner is served in three courses — soup, entree and dessert. In a Senegalese home, a guest would follow the custom of pouring water over their hands as they enter the dining area, then drying them with a common cloth. A rich soup or stew would be served and eaten with the first three fingers of the right hand.

The cuisine of Senegal certainly retains a French flair from France's colonization of the country, but has a quality of its own, too. Seafood is the primary source of protein, given the city's position surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. Rice is the main starch, while couscous also plays a large role. Visitors may want to try Yassa, a chicken specialty dish with lemon and onions, or Mate aux Arachid, a meat stew with ground nuts.